Destination Truth: Seeking the monsters within us
by truthseeker97
Summary: DESTINATION TRUTH! Josh Gates has always been the leader, the strong one. But he has monsters inside of him, ones that keep haunting him, but can the arrival of teenager, Sarah Roberts- who has problems of her own, show him that he is not alone? That he doesn't always have to be the strong one? OC Self harm in later chapters and eating disorder (Temporary hiatus. Reviews mean alot)
1. Preface

**Author's note- So I'm trying out this new idea for a fan fiction I began to write in my notebook, it's based around SyFy's series Destination Truth. There may be some information in here that is incorrect or just wrong, but for the purpose of this fic, I am changing it! Please review, I can't improve if you don't tell me how. Even if it's just to say, that's good, or it needs improving – I will appreciate it greatly. (I will attempt to update regularly but as I am starting my GCSE courses, I won't have much time...)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Destination Truth or the people in it; I am merely playing with these things. I own nothing but my computer.**

Preface

**I'm Josh Gates, in my travels I've seen some unexplainable things... and I've done some things I can't quite explain. Now, I've pulled together a team armed with the latest technology in the search for answers to the world's strangest mysteries. I'm not sure what's out there waiting for me but I know what I'm looking for... The Truth.**

Josh Gates span around on his chair for what seemed like the millionth time that hour. It was quiet; unusually so, and also rather boring. The team was about to start their fourth season of the show – Destination Truth - and they had absolutely no idea how to start it with a bang! Although they still had another fortnight to decide, they liked to have things organised – especially for the opening show. So here they all were; sitting in different points around their large and spacious office doing absolutely nothing. They weren't even talking, which was highly odd as Josh would have said something witty at that point. But he was too pre-occupied with spinning on his chair thinking about his life to talk. Ryder sighed heavily, finally breaking the eerie looming silence of their headquarters. Josh stopped spinning to throw a cheeky grin at her; she snickered at him in return. And then it went silent... again.

Well, Josh thought, their planning was going brilliantly. He smirked to himself sarcastically. Throwing his head back against the chair, he kicked off to spin around some more. After all, he had nothing better to do and it kept his thoughts from overtaking him. And he couldn't let that happen.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N- Once again I will try to update as soon as possible, but that's not always easy. But hey-ho! Really sorry this has taken forever to get up. Had zero motivation... I probably should also mention that it may be an OOC for Josh, it suits the story. And while I think about it, the email addresses included are not real ones; I made them up for purposes of the story and I did the same for the phone number- it's all fake, and please ignore the episode 10 season 3 thing I have wrote in the middle of this, they did do an investigation similar to the one I am describing but none of this actually happened- it's for story purposes.**

**Disclaimer- I own nada, no Josh Gates or Destination Truth are mine – sadly... so no sue. Anyways, on with the show!**

**Chapter 1 - The Information Email**

What seemed like ages was in actual fact only seconds when the silence was once again broken. To say it startled the team was definitely to say the least as most of them promptly jumped about ten feet into the air. They all simultaneously turned to stare at Josh's computer screen which had now lit up; it was an email, lovely, it had been at least a day since they had one. Although the bleep of the email was enough to break the silence, Josh didn't expect it to make his whole team jump up and run over to him and his computer; and quite frankly it startled him. At least it's a distraction from my thoughts, Josh thought to himself as he swivelled in his chair to face the screen.

The title made them gasp, it shocked them, and it certainly provoked their thoughts.

"Evidence you missed" Was typed on the RE section of their inbox. They missed evidence? Well if they did it was probably a one off, Mike thought as he read the intriguing title. A few minutes passed in which the team digested this information. What would they find inside? The question was running through all of their minds, taunting them, their curiosity was piqued by this odd email. It was from a girl called Sarah Roberts. Usually, the emails they got were from fans saying how much they love the show or from fans giving them new ideas for case studies. But this... this was something much more different.

"Well open it," Mike told Josh who was just sitting staring at the screen. Josh's odd behaviour hadn't gone unnoticed by the team, they quickly picked up on the fact that he wasn't always cracking a joke or wasn't always the height of happiness. But most of all they had watched the life and spark slowly fade from his eyes; and they didn't know what to do. It killed them to see their friend and team mate so down, and all they wanted to do was help, but Josh just ignored them. Every time they asked him if he was alright, Josh would always give them the same response:

"I'm fine."

After about the tenth time of him saying that, they say through the lies. They had always known something was wrong; Josh Gates never says "I'm fine." It's a common lie used frequently everyday by people all across the world, but more often than not it really means the exact opposite of "I'm fine." Of course they confronted him on this, told him that they know something is up and they want to help him; but what were they supposed to do when he ignored them? When he said that nothing was wrong and was denying everything? It upset them; especially Ryder and Mike – who Josh was the closest with. They just hoped that in time he would get happier.

Painfully slowly, Josh dragged the mouse and clicked on the new email. Standing with bated breath and high off of anticipation, team Truth read what was to be the start of a whole new adventure.

From: sarahroberts

To: destinationtruth

RE: Evidence you missed

To the Destination Truth gang!

Hi, my name is Sarah Roberts; I'm 15 years old and a massive fan of the show. As I am a fan I've watched all of the episodes and re-watched all of them again. I've always loved how you are able to debunk things, but yet scan your evidence thoroughly to find unexplainable things. I could go on for hours but I expect you will want to know the reason I have emailed you.

Well I noticed something in the 10th episode of season 3. You were at a nuclear site that has been long abandoned; during the episode, Josh, you found heat signatures on the flir thermal imager of what looked like a child. You followed it out to where it was in the corridor but both you and your camera man, Gabe, seemingly didn't see any more sign of the child. Right?

Wrong.

To be honest, I'm not surprised you missed it. When I watched it for the second time I noticed something wasn't what it should be. But I couldn't put my finger on it; so I watched it again... and again. Six times maybe. Then I noticed it; once you've seen it it's actually a little obvious, but when you don't know it's there you have an almost impossible time finding it. You'll want to know what "it" is, so once you scroll to the bottom you will find a picture. But please let me finish what I have to say – or type I guess- I circled the image in red where it is, it will make it easier to notice.

What exactly did you catch?

A ghost; a young boy. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I just want to say once again how much I love all of you! I hope I've been helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Sarah Roberts

PS, if you have any inquiries about this photo, here is my home phone number: 017082354889

I don't know whether it will cost more because I live in Britain but if you need anything just call.

Josh and his team all stared at the screen, then at each other, trying to comprehend what they had just read. A ghost? If this was true it would certainly be a fantastic discovery.

"She's fifteen and noticed something no-one else has?" Josh said impressed.

"Wow." Rex murmured.

"Shall we see it?" Ryder whispered.

"I think we should," Josh said before turning back to the computer. Everyone leaned in closer as Josh scrolled down.

It was a picture; a night vision picture from an infrared camera. The photo was a still from a video, and it was a photo of a corridor – a deserted one – and to the right of it was a room filled with desks and chairs; a school classroom. Suddenly, the team gasped, what they saw sent chills down their spine and shocked them. Circled around a desk was a very thin, red ring, but it was what was inside the ring that shocked them the most. It was an image of a boy, a young boy sat at the desk, his hands on top of it, staring at the front of the room so you could see the side of his translucent face. This was amazing evidence. A clear picture of a ghostly figure, it was gold to them, they found the truth to this destination; a haunted destination. And it was all thanks to this teenager called Sarah Roberts.

"Wow!" Josh exclaimed loudly- the loudest and happiest he'd been for a long time, "This girl must be good to notice this." He jumped up out of his seat in excitement. He paused, gazing at the email for a while, thinking about something. "Hey guys? How would you feel about fresh meat on our team?"

**Author's note- thanks for reading guys! This chappie was actually rather hard for me; it's not easy describing a photo that you make up in your head. I hope you all like it, and if you do please leave a review and tell me how I'm doing.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's note- please bear with me on the whole story, I have stuff planned out- it's just finding the time to type. School likes making me work hard so I apologise if I don't update fairly regularly although I will try my best. Also, the numerous "xxxxx's" indicate a flashback or a memory. I've decided to make Sarah be in year 11, so she has just finished school- however she is 15. Sorry if this is confusing, I'm trying to make things work.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing except my computer. Please enjoy this work of fiction.**

Chapter 2

Sarah took her seat next to the window on the plane. It would only be a few mere moments until England was far away and nothing more than a small speck as she would be on her way to LA. She was excited- no doubt about that; but who wouldn't be? Sarah got to be on a television show with a great bunch of people hunting some of the world's most terrifying monsters. Brilliant! This is going to be fun, she thought as the plane approached the runway. Suddenly, the plane sped forwards; Sarah leaned back against her chair and closed her eyes as the vehicle took off – thinking back to the moment when she got the call.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sarah Roberts picked up her bag and exited the classroom along with everyone else; the bell rang for the last time for several weeks as school had officially ended for the summer. Year 11 was over; done and dusted. School was out forever, as the song goes. Sarah had finished all of her GCSE exams and would get the results during the holidays, and she was happy to be through with school. She let out a breath and smiled, happy for the academic year to have finished. Doing nothing for a while sounds rather appealing right now, Sarah thought to herself as she recalled the events of the year. She got bullied badly on a day to day basis, so she could get away from that for a while, and it was a nice feeling. As she walked out of the front gates, a couple of boys from her year called after her: "Hey whore, have a nice break... not!" They laughed sadistically.

"Going home to mummy and daddy are we?" Another yelled, before laughing hysterically. That stung the most, and it killed Sarah to hear that. She was an orphan, her parents died a few years back, and it hurt her every day. Shaking her head and fighting back tears, she continued the short walk to her house. Being an orphan, and living on her own, Sarah was used to fending for herself during the holidays. Her parents had been rather rich, so she could always afford things, so money was never an issue. It was the loneliness that got to her the most, teenagers nowadays may be ecstatic to live on their own without parents- but in reality it wasn't easy. Especially since she gets bullied, and has no friends and no family left, it's not much of a life really. But she had developed a routine; and for her it worked. As always she wasn't expecting anything particularly exciting to happen in the holidays, however she never would have suspected that it was all about to change. After walking the short walk back home, Sarah unlocked her door and walked into her empty house. Shutting the door behind her, she dumped her bag on the floor and punched the air with her fist. Finally, after five years of excruciating torture, she had finished school. Even the bullies earlier couldn't bring her down this time; it's impossible for this day to get any better, Sarah thought to herself as she did a little happy dance in the living room. Closing her eyes, she relaxed as she lay back on the sofa; things were beginning to look up.

The call startled her. After all, the email she had sent was just to help the Destination Truth team- although she loved them with a burning passion- she never thought anything of it. She didn't even expect to get a reply to her email; just so long as they saw what she had sent and had been grateful. But no; she got better- much better! They had obtained her phone number from her email, she had only put it there in case they had questions about the picture or if something was wrong and it wasn't loading; to be honest, she didn't expect any of this. But hearing the phone ring was certainly a shock; it was enough to make her jump out of her seat and race to the phone- she never had anyone calling her.

"Hello" Sarah answered, curious as to who would actually want to talk to her.

"Hello, is this Sarah Roberts?" A voice- that Sarah recognised from somewhere but could not place- said.

"Yes it is. May I ask who is calling?"

"Josh. Josh Gates from Destination Truth."

"Oh my God!" Sarah screamed very loudly. She heard Josh laugh at the other end.

"Yeah, I just wanted to thank you for your email," Josh said happily, "It's become a huge breakthrough for us and it's all thanks to you. So on behalf of my team- thank you!"

"Oh. Wow. It's fine, glad I could help," She could barely contain herself, but she had to, she didn't want to sound completely nutty to Josh. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself... Josh Gates was talking to her! Josh Gates!

"But that's not all I wanted to talk to you about..." Josh began.

"Really?" Sarah said confused, "What do you need? Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Well yeah actually," Josh said with a smile in his voice; "How would you like to come to LA and join the team?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest was just a blur of pure unimaginable bliss and screaming for Sarah, she still couldn't believe it. Even as she was travelling over the sea to America, Sarah felt that at any moment she would wake up from this perfect dream. But no; at the LA airport would be Joshua Gates, Ryder, Rex and Mike waiting to welcome her and take her to Josh's home. Why his home? That's where Sarah was staying, they wouldn't let her pay for a hotel- they wanted her to be comfortable and welcome, so Josh happily- and enthusiastically- said she could stay with him, (as he has a spare bedroom.) Sarah sighed contentedly as she put her earphones into her ears. My Chemical Romance blasted into her as she closed her eyes, waiting until she would finally be a part of something. Be somewhere where she would belong and be accepted. And she couldn't wait.

Sarah had been shunned ever since her parents died in a car crash. No-one wanted to be friends with the "freaky orphan kid;" so that left her alone. For almost three years she had no friends. No-one to turn to when she needed it the most- but maybe; just maybe, it was about to change.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's note- once again I apologise for not updating Boulevard of Broken Dreams, I lost heart in it a little while ago but I'm planning new things out for it so I will get typing ASAP. Thanks go to my reviewer SupernaturalfreakisSG-1fan23 you gave me a reason to update!**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing. If you don't know it by now then you really should get with it. As much as I would love to own Josh and Destination Truth, I sadly don't, so haha you cannot sue me.**

Chapter 3

Josh parked the car in the crowded parking lot in LA's airport; they had just driven the 40 minute drive to pick Sarah up from the airport. "Everyone out then." Josh said to Ryder, Mike and Rex as he turned off the ignition. After getting out and locking the car, Josh turned to his small team and said, "We still have another twenty minutes till her plane's due."

"Coffee?" Mike said hopefully.

"Starbucks." Rex agreed.

"Just so long as Ryder's paying." Josh grinned playfully at her.

"Why is it always me?" Ryder muttered good-naturedly to herself as she followed the boys into the airport. They did end up ordering Starbucks, and much to Josh's amusement, Ryder paid.

"Oh Ryder, you shouldn't have," he said a little too gratefully to her.

"Shut up you," she playfully hit his arm before he could get out of the way.

"All right love birds, I want to be able to keep this coffee down," Mike told them. At this, Rex sniggered. Erin and Josh just rolled their eyes in a response. In all honesty, the team was glad that Josh was like this- playful and happy- it made a nice change from his recent demeanour. Ever since they had gotten the email, Josh had just seemed better in general, however he still had his moments when he would go unbearably quiet and miserable looking- and in those times he would look on the verge of tears. The team thought that maybe having Sarah staying with him at his house would cheer him up a bit- he would have more company and maybe looking after Sarah would distract him.

"Do you think Sarah is gonna be okay with us?" Rex asked thoughtfully.

"I'm sure she will love it," Mike replied. "Who couldn't love us?"

"She have any medical conditions?" Rex queried. Of course- what with him being the team medic- he wanted to know these sorts of things. Josh smiled at the question and said:

"Asthma. But she is bringing her inhalers, however she said that it was mild and it only gets bad about once a year."

"I wonder if she has a cool accent..." Mike mused.

"Well she is British so you never know," Ryder grinned.

"If she had a really posh one I wouldn't be able to concentrate on what she is saying," Mike laughed.

"She didn't sound posh on the phone," Josh told them, "But she does have a pretty cool accent."

"Awesome," Rex said. After a pause of uncomfortable silence he said, "When does her plane arrive?" Josh glanced up at the electronic timetable and said:

"It's supposed to be arriving in the next few minutes. Has everyone finished their drinks?" They all nodded, yes, "Let's go meet the next monster hunter!"

They all stood by the baggage claim conveyer belts, in perhaps the most awkward looking line in history. Josh almost laughed at how they were just staring at the arrival doors, arms folded in a line- it looked like some bad scene out of a gangster movie. It wasn't long until people began arriving through the doors at the other end; luckily it was only a small flight so not too many people were there. They waited for what must have been only seconds when a teenager walked into view. She was around five foot three and very slim, she had medium length brown hair that brushed past her left eye slightly. The girl was wearing black skinny jeans with red converses, and a black and white checked shirt - with the buttons undone - with a plain black top underneath. She was pretty, the gang couldn't deny that, and she seemed like she could be a really lovely person. Finally, when she got closer, her eyes met Josh's – both sets of eyes were bright green. Sarah smiled warmly as she approached them; Josh walked forward to meet her, and to everyone's (especially Sarah's) surprise, wrapped the teenager in his arms for a welcome hug. His embrace was swiftly returned once Sarah got over the initial shock of her favourite person in the world hugging her!

"You must be Sarah," Josh said smiling.

"You are definitely Josh Gates!" Sarah laughed, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And it's certainly a pleasure to meet our teenage truth seeker!" Josh smirked his famous good natured smirk as the two let go of each other.

"Teenage truth seeker?" Sarah grinned, "I like it."

"Ah I made it all up myself," Josh said, pretending to seem proud of himself, "You already know their names, but let me introduce you to Rex, Ryder and Mike." After saying hi to each other and a round of warm hugs, Josh suggested that they collected Sarah's bags and get on the road.

Mike- who had generously carried Sarah's suitcase- lifter her luggage (which consisted of one suitcase and a large bag for hand luggage) into the boot of Josh's team truth jeep. They all piled into the car, Josh driving, Ryder in the passenger seat, and Sarah and the boys in the back.

"We're meeting Evan, Vanessa and Bobby at mine," Josh informed Sarah once they got on the road; "They can't wait to meet you."

"I can't wait to meet them," Sarah said, "How long is it to your house?"

"It's not far," Rex stated, "You'll love Josh's house. It's rather big."

"And your room's all ready," Josh added.

"You really didn't have to go through all this trouble," Sarah sighed guiltily.

"Its fine," Josh said smiling happily, "I'm actually looking forward to having you. It can get boring on my own..."

"It's all he's been talking about," Mike laughed, "He's been like some teenage girl about to have a sleepover!"

"I can't wait to have Sarah round!" Ryder said in a mock tone of Josh's voice.

"Hey! Leave me alone," Josh pouted, slightly embarrassed, "I've been looking forward to having some company."

"On those lonely nights," Rex said in a dreamy voice.

"To love and cherish," Mike said in the same tone.

"Forever and ever," Ryder contributed.

"Best friends!" Sarah said in a mock accent of the inbetweeners. They all burst out laughing; poor Josh however was looking rather sheepish, with his cheeks tinged pink. The rest of the car journey was filled with banter, the team had welcomed Sarah with open arms and a strong friend ship had already formed. It wasn't long before Josh was pulling into his driveway.

As Sarah got out of the car, her mouth opened in shock. The house was huge! Two stories high with white wall and a large gravel driveway, the house was wide though, which made it look even bigger.

"There's a massive garden out back," Ryder informed her.

"With a Jacuzzi," Josh grinned, "Everyone usually likes to get in and relax once we get back after a long investigation."

"Wow." Sarah said, practically speechless.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's note – Thanks again to my awesome reviewer! The reason why I got this chappie up quick is because it's the weekend and I have nothing else better to do with my life.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing except for Sarah. So you cannot sue me, if you are that sad and want to make me suffer then you can have my pen. Anyways, on with the show!**

Chapter 4

Sarah sat outside in Josh's ridiculously big back garden; she had been introduced to Bobby, Evan and Vanessa, and had gotten the 'grand tour' of her temporary residence. No-one could deny that this was a nice place, in fact it was amazing! Sarah had never seen anything like it before, and she loved it.

"I think we should try out Josh's Jacuzzi," Rex said to Sarah.

"You lot have already 'tried' it at least a million times," Josh grinned, "But please, go ahead!"

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked, shocked at just how nice everyone was to her.

"Yeah of course," Josh said. Everyone was still, "Well isn't anyone gonna get in?"

"I don't think any of us have our swim gear..." Ryder sighed. Josh groaned and stood up. He walked over to Sarah with a cheeky grin on his face.

"What are you doing?" Sarah said, half laughing as she stood up quickly out of her chair and attempted to back off. Josh said nothing and continued his advance towards her, Sarah turned to run, but in a few steps Josh had grabbed hold of her. Picking her up effortlessly, he carried Sarah – who was protesting against his actions – and pretty much threw her into the large Jacuzzi.

"That was uncalled for!" Sarah giggled once she had surfaced dripping wet. Her clothes were soaked through; at least there was no need for swimsuits now. Josh quirked an eyebrow and just smiled innocently at her:

"What's uncalled for?" He laughed. He came to stand next to the Jacuzzi, before he had even registered the footsteps behind him, he found himself joining Sarah as a strong Ryder shoved him head-first in. Josh came up coughing: "Now that was mean!" He flicked water in the general direction of Erin and pouted slightly. Soon though, the rest of the team had joined them in the warm water and were relaxing as the jets soothed their muscles.

"I might just sleep in here," Sarah sighed contentedly.

"Might join you," Josh mumbled, his eyes closed.

"Do we have to go home?" Bobby asked with his eyes closed.

"Yes, unfortunately..." Josh said, "We gotta plan for cases tomorrow. If everything goes to plan we should hopefully be on our next investigation next Thursday. Depends how quickly we plan though, however the guys at Syfy want to get started fairly early."

"It's going to be so much fun," Sarah smiled.

"It is." Vanessa agreed.

At four, the team retired to Josh's living room sofas- which were incredibly comfortable.

"Wanna play a game?" Mike asked the gang.

"How about three's?" Josh suggested as he recalled playing the simple dice game numerous times on his journeys around the globe.

"Sounds good," the others agreed.

"Do you know how to play it Sarah?" Josh asked their latest addition.

"Yep, you wrote a bit about it in your book..." She trailed off as they all turned to look at her: "What?" She asked confused.

"I just find it funny how you have read his book, watched the show, stalked him, and now you're gonna be investigating with him." Evan laughed.

"I didn't stalk him!" Sarah protested, "I simply just tweeted him everyday..."

"Point proven," Mike muttered to Evan who laughed in return. Sarah just grumbled something indecipherable and rolled her eyes at the boys. They all played a couple of rounds of threes, and then decided to play scrabble in teams; but soon it came to seven o clock and the team had to depart to go back home. All of them bid goodnight to Josh and Sarah, saying that they would see them tomorrow and that they looked forward to working with her. Now Josh and Sarah were on their own.

"Everyone's so nice," Sarah said happily.

"What were you expecting? For them to throw stones at you?" Josh asked smiling.

"No, not quite," she laughed, "I guess I wasn't anticipating them to be that happy to have me..."

"They genuinely are excited to have a young team member." Josh mused, "As a rule we generally don't have people under eighteen on the team. Too young sometimes and some can be reckless, besides- not many teenagers we know would be able to spot something like you did which is one of the reasons why we wanted you here, but as you are out of school, I guess this could count as work experience as well?"

"Yeah, would look good on my CV wouldn't it? Monster hunting and Ghost hunting, exploring around the world, being on TV..." Sarah smiled in awe of what she would actually be doing, "Thank you Josh." She said gratefully to him as she shifted on the couch to face him.

"Whatever for?" Josh asked, smiling slightly at her. This was a gentle side of him you rarely see on telly, the side where he is calm and open and loving. It's a side that made the ones who knew him love him all the more, this side was the one where you could talk to him about anything- anything at all and he wouldn't make a joke. Where he would listen to whatever you had to say, and still love you no matter what- Sarah had rarely seen anyone this nice since her parents died.

"For accepting me, for actually wanting to be with me and wanting to have me be a part of your team. I'm not really used to kindness like this and I guess I'm just really happy that people who I look up to want to know me. And for letting me stay in your home, I would've been happy with a hotel, but it means alot that you're happy to let me stay here." Sarah said meaningfully.

"You're welcome Sarah," He said quietly. Josh smiled slightly and said, "I'm honestly glad for the company here, and I'm not sure why you were worried we wouldn't like you- you are a genuinely lovely person and a good polite teenager at that." Sarah's mouth turned in a smile and he continued, "I was wary about having a teenager on our team- you see a couple of years ago, a member of my family got badly injured by a group of teens and I guess I have never really trusted them since. Sounds very prejudiced I know- but people like you are the ones who changed my opinion."

"Wow, I'm really sorry about that... but thank you." Sarah said, sad to hear Josh's small story. He just shook his head with a small smile on his face in response.

"So come on, tell me a bit about you! Let's have some bonding time!" Josh grinned as his demeanour shifted into a more cheerful one. Sarah just laughed at him and proceeded to tell him about her school and what she did in it – leaving out the bit about the bullies thought of course.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's note- Thanks again to my reviewer- hope this chapter answers your question! I know this is progressing slowly at the moment, but I have plans, so bear with. Also, I'm thinking about writing a Ghost Hunters story, so the first chapter of that might be in progress soon. I would also like to add that I don't stick to a plan on stories, whatever you read has – for the most part – been made up on the spot (as I write better on a computer rather than planning...) so if it seems weird I apologise!**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing except my sexy imagination. And you can't sue me for that- my sexiness is too good for you! Haha, I joke, I have a dirty imagination but I'm not sexy by any means – the only really sexy thing is Josh Gates. **

Chapter 5

Nine o'clock came around and they were still chatting happily to each other, talking about life, about Josh's travels amongst a variety of other things.

"You know, you haven't mentioned your family yet," Josh pointed out, he face a tad serious, "You haven't even called your mum; do you want to do that?" Sarah froze; she hadn't expected this particular question to come up so quick.

"Ummm," she whispered, unsure of what to say before the tears threatened to fall. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to fight the tears that stung her eyes, she turned away from Josh, looking at the carpet.

"Sarah?" Josh asked, worried at her sudden behaviour. He knew something was up; he got that feeling that she was hiding something serious. "Sarah look at me." He voice became very gentle, and he was back to being the caring Josh who would listen to you and help you, and love you no matter what without making a single joke. Sarah refused to look at him and carried on staring blankly into space. Josh wondered whether he had struck a sore spot or not, he wasn't really sure what to think. "Sarah, what's wrong. I can't help if you don't tell me." He got no response: "Sarah, please, look at me." When she didn't move, he gently touched her face and turned it to look at him; he was met with green eyes filled with pain and sadness. It was then he knew for definite that something was seriously up; it was unusual for someone to be on the brink of tears at the mention of family. Josh took her small hands in his and he looked into her eyes; it killed him to see how unhappy she looked.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" he asked tentatively, "I didn't mean to upset you..." She just shook her head and took a deep breath; she cast her eyes downward- unable to look at the concern in his eyes any longer. Josh hesitated before softly saying: "Is it about your family? Your mum?" Slowly, Sarah nodded her head – yes. Josh began to wonder what was going on. Maybe something had happened to her family? Maybe they had an argument? He wanted to press the issue, because whatever it was- it was getting Sarah upset, and he didn't like seeing people he cared about upset.

"Sarah, what is it?" he tried again, "Talk to me." She gazed up into his emerald eyes and sighed a little before shifting slightly. Bringing her hand to her face, she wiped the tears that had escaped from her eyes.

"Yeah it is my family," Sarah said, her voice dropped to a whisper, "Or lack of..." Josh frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean by 'lack of'?" He asked gently. Sarah looked at him, a few more tears cascading like lone waterfalls down her cheeks.

"Just that really," She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, when she opened them she saw Josh's bewildered face and elaborated quietly: "I'm an orphan..." It pained her so much to say the words and it pained her even more to see Josh's shocked face mixed up with sadness, devastation and worry.

Josh was silent for what must have been several minutes, his brain trying to process the tragic information. He mentally chastised himself for not saying anything straight away, but the initial shock had still not worn off. Sarah was an orphan; her family was dead. That's alot for someone of just fifteen years of age to go through, and yet she seemed like a happy bubbly person- up until now. Well this news had changed a fair few things. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, was she even allowed to be here? He felt bad though, felt badly for Sarah and what she must have gone through. Finally, he came to his senses again and pulled Sarah in for a hug. She rested her head against his chest as she gratefully welcomed his warm, comforting embrace. Josh was the sort of man that gave really nice hugs, and you just wanted to hug him all the time, but it comforted Sarah and as Josh stroked her hair gently, he wondered just what she had had to go through. After Sarah's body and stopped shaking from her sobs, he decided to say:

"I'm so sorry Sarah... I really had no idea." His voice was choked from his own sadness.

"It's okay," she sniffed a little, "I didn't tell you." Her voice rose slight as she said, "I'm sorry!"

"Hey, hey it's okay," Josh comforted, "I can understand why you wouldn't want to say exactly what's happened." He took a breath before asking the question, "Who looks after you?"

"Me," came her simple yet heartbreaking reply, "I have my own house, my parents were fairly rich so money has never been an issue..."

"You lived on your own?" Josh said, devastated.

"For 2 years," she whispered sadly. Josh hugged her even more tightly.

"Who let you go here- to America?" He asked gently. Sarah paused for a second before replying.

"Me." When Josh didn't say anything she decided to continue, "I can do what I like. No-one tells me what I can and can't do. I've finished school so that isn't an issue, and I have no family so that isn't an issue either. I have a ridiculous amount of money so I am happy to pay for whatever I need during my time here." She then hesitated, before saying slowly, "That is... if you still want me..." Those words made Josh's heart break into a million pieces.

"Of course we want you. Nothing is going to change that- no matter what you go through, we will love you no matter what. I know we have only known you for a day, but you are already a member of the team- of our family. I'm not letting you go." Josh said. Sarah started to feel the tears overflow again, and Josh instantly worried.

"Sorry," she apologised, "I've just never been a part of something where I've truly been accepted."

"Hey, don't apologise," Josh murmured. "Our teenage truth seeker isn't gonna leave us that easily. The team are looking forward to working with you." At this, Sarah shifted so she could look up at Josh, and she smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered softly.

"Don't mention it," Josh said. "But if you ever want to talk, I'm here. Believe it or not I am a good listener. I'm not just full of stupid jokes." Sarah laughed slightly. But suddenly her face turned serious:

"How long am I welcome here for?" The question caught Josh off guard, he never really thought about it. But he knew what his answer was now:

"As long as you like." This made Sarah smile, but she frowned.

"I'll pay rent; I have plenty of money- I don't expect to just stay here for free."

"Maybe I won't accept your money." Josh smirked his famous smirk.

"Josh... I can't not pay." Sarah protested.

"Hey, I'm happy for you to stay here- in fact I'm ecstatic to have the company. So please, don't worry about money- as you can probably tell I have a fair bit myself. I'm just glad for the company I guess..." He trailed off thoughtfully.

"Wow, are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Thanks Josh, seriously- thank you." Sarah said gratefully. "But please tell me when you've had enough and you want me out."

"I don't think I'll ever have enough of you. Besides, I wouldn't kick you out; you're only fifteen and have nowhere to go."

"I have a house back in England," Sarah reminded him.

"Maybe I want you to stay here and investigate with us forever." Josh said truthfully. Sarah just looked at him in surprise. "I wasn't just thinking about having you on a few investigations Sarah!" Josh laughed a little, "I seriously want you to stay and help us out- with the talent for finding stuff like that on a photo that no-one else found, you would be an asset to the team. Besides, you have seen the show- obviously – so you must roughly know how some equipment works."

"I do. I've also seen Ghost Hunters, so I know how a flir thermal imager works." Sarah said.

"I love the Ghost Hunters guys," Josh grinned, "They're really nice, maybe you could meet them sometime?"

"That would be cool," Sarah smiled.

"But seriously though, there's not too much point only having you over for a few investigations. The team and I talked it over and they said that if you were friendly- nice, and were willing to help out, they would be delighted for you to stay for as many seasons as possible." Josh told her.

"Whoa, wait. Seasons?" Sarah asked in amazement. She really hadn't expected to stay on for more than three investigations, but seasons? That's alot.

"Yeah, if you are happy to stay with us." Josh said smiling at her amazement.

"Definitely, if you'll have me, I would love to stay and do this." Sarah said happily.

"Of course. You're only young as well, so you have lots of time to improve, and we can help teach you how to use the equipment and become an investigator."

"Wow." That was all Sarah could say. Her heart was racing with excitement, and for the first time in a while, she was actually looking forward to the future.

After a while of chatting, the two went their separate ways to bed. Of course Josh wanted to know more about her family and what had happened- but he didn't want to press her too much. She had already gotten very upset tonight, so he thought he would leave it for later, or until she wanted to talk to him. Smiling with happiness, he threw back the covers and got into bed; quickly falling asleep into the first peaceful night's sleep in ages.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's note- Thanks to my reviewer and to those who follow/ favourite my story, and to those who just read it! I hope you enjoy this chappie.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything, sorry about that.**

Chapter 6

Josh awoke bright, but not early, the next morning with the sunlight streaming through the curtains. Yawning, he slowly got out of bed and headed downstairs to make some coffee. As he padded down the hallway in his plain t-shirt and pyjama pants, he decided to see if Sarah was awake first. He knocked on her door a few times to be met with the reply: "Come in." Josh grinned as he opened the door to find Sarah sitting on the bed in her pyjamas.

"Good morning sunshine!" He greeted her cheerily.

"Mornin'..." She mumbled sleepily back.

"Have a good sleep?" he asked as he went over to sit beside her.

"Very good thanks, and you?"

"Actually, I had quite a good sleep." Josh said, "Makes a nice change." Sarah rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times before looking at him and saying:

"What do you mean by that?"

"Meh; haven't been getting much sleep recently." He muttered with a small shrug. "Anyhow, would you like some coffee? I'm just about to make some."

"That would be lovely thanks," Sarah stood up and stretched- finally looking more alert. The two headed downstairs to Josh's kitchen. "It's a very big kitchen," Sarah noted aloud.

"It is, considering I don't even cook." Josh laughed.

"You don't cook?" Sarah said incredulously.

"Never seemed to be much point, what with their only being me to cook for." Josh said.

"Hmm, I'll have to cook something for you sometime then," Sarah mused as she looked around.

"You can cook?"

"Yeah," Sarah turned to look at him, "What sort of food do you like?"

"Pretty much anything..." He thought for a moment, "Can you make curry?"

"I sure can if that's what you fancy." Sarah grinned.

"I could do with stocking up the kitchen anyways, so how about we go shopping after work?" Josh suggested.

"Sounds good to me."

After drinking their coffee, and after Josh had some breakfast, the two went upstairs to get ready. Josh sighed to himself as he got changed, he wondered why Sarah didn't want to have any breakfast, although she had given him the reply of "I'm not hungry- besides, I don't usually eat breakfast." He still thought it was a little strange, but he decided it was best to leave it and not say anything. Once they were all ready to go, Josh and Sarah made their way to Josh's car; they both got in- this time with Sarah in the passenger seat- and headed off to the Destination Truth office.

"You ready to look around the office?" Josh asked her as he parked the car.

"Definitely, god I'm really excited," Sarah grinned, "I honestly thought that this was all a dream and any moment I'm gonna wake up back to my boring old life." She laughed.

"That's the attitude!" Josh smiled at Sarah, "It's a dream is it?" He grinned cheekily, "Do you want me to pinch ya?" He suddenly then shifted in his seat to start pinching and tickling Sarah, she begged him to stop as she writhed, trying to get away from him.

"Ahh! Stop it please! Please!" She gasped. He finally stopped, leaving Sarah gasping for breath, "Did you enjoy torturing me?" Sarah lightly punched him good-naturedly in the shoulder. He laughed evilly in a Dracula way and responded.

"Very much so..." He smirked as he got out of the car. Sarah followed suit and slammed the door behind her, she watched as Josh locked the car. With a brilliant thought entering her mind, Sarah sneaked stealthily round the back of the car to come up behind Josh. Walking silently on tip-toes, she stopped just behind him and dug her fingers into his sides where his pressure point is. Josh yelped in surprise and jumped before spinning around to face the culprit; Sarah sniggered at him then bolted for the door to the building.

"Hey you!" Josh shouted laughing, "Come back here!" He took after her, but she was too quick, and she managed to get inside the building before Josh even had a chance to get near her. Sarah swiftly shut the glass door behind her and leaned against it as she caught her breath and tried to stop herself from laughing too much.

"Having fun out there?" Sarah looked up to see Mike approaching her.

"Morning Mike!" She greeted him, "Yeah, loads of fun!"

"We've been watching you out the window." He said, but he grinned, "Haven't seen Josh like that for a long time."

"What do you mean?" Sarah frowned.

"He hasn't been himself for a few months now, ever since you've come it's like he's a whole new person," Mike stopped as Josh ran up to the door and banged on it in mock anger, "Maybe I'll tell you another time. Better let the boss in though before he takes us on an investigation and leaves us in the middle of nowhere unexpectedly." Mike smiled as she stepped away from the door to hide behind him. Josh slowly unlocked the door and stared at them; Sarah cowered behind Mike, trying to stop herself from falling onto the floor and dying from laughter. A slam of the door let Sarah know that he was in:

"So we meet again," Josh whispered mysteriously. Sarah whimpered in both terror and from laughter. "I think you should come out to play..."

"No! Leave me alone!" She giggled as Josh ran forward and captured her away from Mike.

"You're mine now." He growled playfully, Josh began to tickle her again until he had her begging for mercy.

"Please Josh! Don't do this to me!" Sarah squealed and laughed, "Please?" She looked up at him with puppy dog eyes and Josh smiled before letting her go.

"Later..." he muttered sinisterly. Sarah just groaned and made a face.

"Bully!" She smacked his arm.

"Says the one punching me!"

"Alright guys! Break it up," Rex laughed. Josh and Sarah turned in surprise to find the whole of Team Truth watching them with laughter in their eyes. The two stepped away, their expressions sheepish.

"Shall we get on?" Josh mumbled embarrassed as he led Sarah into the main office.

**Author's note- I apologise for the awfulness of this chapter, I promise the next one will be longer and better, I just wanted to get this up first.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's note- I sincerely apologise for taking ages to get this chapter up! I've had barely any time what with it being Christmas and the fact I've been updating my other stories as well. I hope y'all enjoy this though, but I would mention that information is inaccurate because although the monster mentioned is 'real' I will make stuff up about it. Also, the other investigation is completely made up just to warn you! I really am sorry...**

**Disclaimer- I don't own anything, sorry about that!**

Chapter 7

Sarah looked around with a big smile on her face, taking in every detail of the Destination Truth headquarters office. It was a very large room, with several desks and computers, some books on cryptozoology and the paranormal, a big chalk board to write down facts and ideas, and also a good few couches, chairs and tables. She also noted some of their equipment on the table near the chalk board.

"Do you guys keep the equipment here?" Sarah asked.

"Some of it we do," Josh replied.

"I usually keep all the audio stuff at mine," Mike told me.

"We keep a few infrared cameras and trap cameras here." Josh added.

"Oh, and we keep the thermal imagers at Josh's." Bobby said.

"That way," Josh began, "If one place gets burgled we don't lose everything. And Evan usually collects his camera for filming from the Syfy offices after we finish making an episode."

"I've got to go back there tomorrow," Evan told us, "They've got me a new camera I think..."

"Either way, we have to crack on," Josh looked at everyone, "Syfy has wanted us to get out and start filming ASAP. All we need to do is research what we are hunting for, and then Ryder needs to arrange tickets and accommodation and such, and then we can go."

"Sounds pretty rushed," Sarah laughed.

"It is," Rex agreed, "By now we usually at least know what we are going to be tracking down, but that's what we are doing today."

"Alright then guys," Josh said, clasping his hands together, "First of all, I want everyone to look for possible monsters or ghosts to go and hunt for the next hour. We can then present our ideas, pick a favourite and do some research while Ryder sorts everything else out."

"I have a quick question," Sarah told him quietly, "Are we going on one monster hunt for the episode or two?" There was a silence in which Josh seemed to be thinking.

"I think we should do two," he mused, "Maybe later in the season we can perhaps do a one hour special. But stick to two cases for now I think..." They all nodded their heads in agreement. "Let's get on with it then!"

Sarah watched as the team went off to sit at the computers around the room about to begin their research, Josh touched her shoulder and smiled as he led them over to a small pile of equipment by the chalk board.

"We actually have brought a few of our gear to show you," He said to her as he picked up what Sarah recognised as a flir thermal imager. Turning it on, he then proceeded to tell Sarah how it all worked; he told her about the flir, the digital voice recorders, and the infrared cameras they position around base camp.

"Wow," Sarah laughed once he had finished.

"Too much to take in?" Josh asked with a grin.

"Just a tad," She smiled back, "But I'm sure I'll pick it up fairly quickly." Josh laughed and stood up before announcing to the room:

"How are we getting on? Has everyone got something to show yet?" He was met with a few mumbled replies from around the room. Josh sighed and groaned whilst rolling his eyes, "Raise your hands if you have found something!" Everyone raised their hands.

"Hang on," Bobby said, "I have an idea, but I haven't got alot of research- I have some though."

"That's fine, so should we present our ideas?"

"Sounds good," Mike grinned as the team got up from their seats by their computers and walked to the large table near the chalk board. Sarah remained in her seat next to Josh.

"So," Josh clapped his hands together once everyone had taken a seat in front of us. "What have we got?" First to speak was Bobby:

"Well I have a really interesting case down in Africa." He looked around at us, "There've been reported sightings of a living sabre-toothed cat called the Ennedi tiger. We don't know much about it, but there have been several sightings in the east of Chad, around the Ennedi mountain range."

"Sounds good." Ryder contributed.

"It does," Josh agreed thoughtfully, "We don't know much about it, but it would be interesting to find out what exactly these people think they're seeing."

"I like the sound of it," Sarah added quietly, "It would be different to do a supposed extinct animal to see if we can disprove it..."

"I agree with Sarah," Josh murmured. "Who's up to going to Africa?"

"Me!" Came an enthusiastic chorus of replies.

"Well that's one sorted quickly." Josh smiled, "What else?" There was a brief silence before Rex spoke up:

"Well I was looking for possible ghost claims to go check out," he looked at Josh, he seemed unsure, "If that's okay. I was just thinking that we haven't done a ghost one for quite a while- since Chernobyl in fact- I thought it would be something different to do."

"Yeah that's fine Rex," Josh said agreeing with him, "It would be a good idea to do another ghost hunt..." He looked around at the others who were all smiling- they seemed to enjoy hunting the paranormal as well as cryptids. "So what have you got for us Rex?"

"I have a place called Septar house."

"Septar?" Evan sounded confused.

"I don't know, I'm guessing it was a family name," Rex shrugged before continuing, "It's a two story house with a graveyard out back; there is a couple who still live there- but they are quite scared to."

"Sounds like something TAPS should look at!" Mike laughed.

"I guess so, but what interested me was that they have caught full bodied apparitions' on camera." He paused before elaborating, "Ever since they moved in they have been plagued with many unexplained things- strange voices are heard and they have been seeing shadows. One day shortly after they moved, they were taking pictures on a camera of the rooms and graveyard of their house. They got them printed out and on two of the photos are some rather odd things. On the one in the graveyard is what appears to be a strange sort of mist- it's about the height of an average sized person, and the owners claim that there was no mist at the time. But on the second photo- taken inside the attic they caught something very interesting." He hesitated, sensing our interest in this case before finally saying, "A full bodied figure of a man."

"No way," Vanessa murmured.

"Have you got the pictures to show us?" Josh asked curiously.

"I was about to print them when you called us over." Rex told him.

"Well let's take a look at them," Josh said excitedly as he led us over to the computer Rex was working on. Rex sat down and opened up the files he had been looking at in his saved pictures area.

"This is the mist in the graveyard," he told us as he opened up the first picture.

"Dude that's crazy," Evan muttered. Josh frowned and leaned in slightly closer:

"That's just... weird." He said.

"Not as weird as this one," Rex clicked a few things before changing the picture. The whole room gasped and stared at it; the picture was one of the attic, a few boxes were stacked in a corner and it looked like it hadn't been used in ages. But by the other corner was a clear figure of a tall man, it was fairly transparent and you could barely see the lower legs- almost as if it began to fade away.

"That's awesome," Sarah grinned excitedly.

"I think we should check this place out," Josh said in amazement. He suddenly grinned, "All those in favour say Aye!" Of course he was met with the loud reply of:

"Aye!"

Once everyone was sat back in their original seats near the chalk board, Josh spoke aloud to all of them:

"I think if we perhaps travel to Africa first and film there it would be better."

"I'll get on the phone to Syfy in a bit and talk to them about that," Ryder said, "And then once we have the dates and the all clear, I'll go ahead and book the flights."

"Great Erin thanks." Josh paused before continuing, "And then if we go ghost hunting second, because it's just outside of Rhode Island," He turned to Rex, "I am right in thinking that aren't I?"

"You are." Rex confirmed, "That's were Jason and Grant live isn't it?"

"It is," Josh said. He then paused for a while, a small smile slowly spreading on his face, he then said:

"How about seeing if we can have one of the Ghost Hunter's crew on the show?" Josh grinned, "I've been on a few of their live shows before- it would be nice if they could make a small appearance on our season premiere!" At this the team broke out into excited chatter.

"Brilliant idea Josh!" Mike said. Josh got several good responses from gang so he said:

"I'll give them a call later as well; see if any of them can do it." He then turned to Sarah, "I did say that you could maybe meet them some time."

"It would be awesome if they can come," She replied grinning. Josh glanced at his watch.

"Well guys, why don't we take an hour lunch break? Then after lunch, I can call Jason; and Ryder- if you can call Syfy and tell them our plans that would be great. Oh, can you also mention we may have some of the Ghost Hunter's guys joining us?"

"I can sure do that." Erin replied.

"Alright then everyone, I'll see you in a bit." Josh told them as they began to depart. He and Sarah waited until everyone had gone before walking outside- locking the place up beforehand.

"Any preferences for lunch?" Josh asked Sarah as they got into his car.

"I'm happy to have whatever you have," Sarah replied. Josh sighed, thinking for a moment before saying:

"Taco Bell sounds any good?"

"Sounds great!" She laughed, "Haven't had it before."

"Haven't you?" Josh said incredulously.

"There are only three Taco Bell restaurants in the UK. I lived fairly close to one- but I never went..."

"You have to try it," Josh told her, "Their fries are to die for." Sarah laughed in response as Josh started the car up. "So what do you think of your first day?" He asked her.

"It's pretty cool," she replied smiling happily, "It was a bit rushed this morning though," Sarah laughed a little, "But it will be really cool when we get to do some investigating!"

"I do hope someone from TAPS can come," Josh murmured, "They're all really nice people. It would be awesome if either Jay or Grant can come though!" He glanced sideways at Sarah, "Who's your favourite from TAPS?" Sarah blushed a little at this question- Josh noticed this and jokingly snickered at her. He reached across and poked her in the ribs. "Come on, spill! Who do you have a crush on?" Sarah giggled nervously; her cheeks tinged a light pink.

"Will I get teased if I tell you?" She asked laughing.

"Probably." Josh replied a little too honestly. She poked him and glared at him but asked:

"You might tell him."

"But I might not," Josh grinned even more, "Aw! Come on, please tell me!" He looked at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." Sarah huffed, still blushing. She hesitated for a moment before admitting: "Grant."

Josh laughed at her admission, and poked her again- she squealed and batted his hand away.

"How cute!" He joked, "Grant better be able to come now!"

"Oh no..." Sarah groaned.

"Sarah Wilson!" He joked as she buried her face in her hands.


End file.
